Two low-profile gantry cranes which once handled cargo at the Port of Oakland left the Bay Area on Monday headed for the Massachusetts Port Authority.
A barge carrying the 1,200-ton 12-story tall steel cranes is expected to take about a month to make the 6,300 mile trip to the Port of Boston via the Panama Canal.
The Kocks low-profile cranes, which are almost 200 feet shorter that typical folding-boom gantry cranes, were used at the Oakland port's Evergreen terminal to address flight path safety issues when the nearby Alameda Naval Air Station was in service. The air base was closed in 1997.
In March, the port replaced the Kocks cranes with more modern Super Post-Panamax folding-boom cranes built by ZPMC in China.
Boston's Conley Container Terminal needs the cranes due to similar air traffic issues with nearby Boston Logan International Airport.
“We are pleased that our low-profile container cranes are going to be put to good use at Massport," said Port of Oakland Maritime Director James Kwon. "This demonstrates how the port industry is making conscious decisions for the environment whenever possible. With the re-use of these cranes, we are reducing waste and saving resources, and Massport gets cranes that are ready to put in service.”
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
